The PURPLE GOLDFISH PROJECT: 1001 Examples of Lagniappe

#2. From Laura Howells
“Caribou Coffee gives you a complimentary chocolate-covered coffee bean with your coffee. This makes me so happy that I seek out the Caribou Coffee whenever I have a layover at the Minneapolis airport. Take that Starbucks.”

From Kelly Leslie
#4. “Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day (held each April to celebrate their birthday), Dunkin’ Donuts (free iced coffee on the first day of spring)”
#5. Doubletree Hotels (free warm chocolate cookie at check in)
#6. Scrub-a-Dub Car Wash (free wash on your birthday)
#7. Denny’s (kids eat free on Tuesday nights)
#8. McDonald’s (free coffee for senior citizens age 55 and older)”

#12. From Rob Gallo
“Disney gives you free admission to one of its theme parks on your birthday.”

#14. From Darren Miner
“The US Postal Service Flat Rate Box. No weight limit and one simple price. You fit it . . . and they ship it”

Matthew Hirsch
#16. DoubleTree Hotels – They give cookies to all guests when they check in: http://doubletree.hilton.com/en/dt/promotions/dt_cookie/index.jhtml

#18. From Mark Beal
“Krispy Kreme will give a free doughnut for just walking through the door”

#20. From Dan Hull
“Starbucks gives out a free cup of coffee on election day if you come in with an “i voted” sticker”

#22. From Claire Gallo
“I live in West Hartford, CT. When you shop at Whole Foods and buy fish, meat or poultry . . . the folks at Whole Foods will offer to give you ice for free. Very nice touch, especially if you have other errands or plan to shop around town.”

From Gene Willis in Amsterdam
#34. “Was thinking, not sure if this qualifies, but I get a copy of PASTE magazine, which is a music, film and culture magazine. They had a nice lagniappe in that each issue comes with a bunch of free songs. It used to be on a CD, but with the shrinking ad revenue during the recession, they had to make some changes, so now you download them instead of delivering them with each copy. Always thought it was pretty cool.
#35. There’s another…although i’m not sure if it qualifies….a place in Auburn, CA that has a bit of a cult following…it’s called IKEDAS, and it’s a family run restaurant/community market. In the market they have a basket of free chips and bread in front of each of their salad dressings so you can taste them. It’s a nice, human touch that creates a little something extra to make the shopping experience a bit more of an experience. It’s a small thing, and sampling isn’t all that unique, but the fact is they do it, and every time I was with people driving from the Bay Area up to lake Tahoe on HWY 80, everyone would remember IKEDAS and their great grocery store.
#36. On a more macro level, I’ve always thought that clean bathroom in Starbucks are given far too little credit for their success. It’s not a mandate, and some places will designate them as employee only, but that feels cheap.
#37. Last one I can think of right now, another famous one from San Francisco…The Fillmore, a famous music auditorium which has hosted everyone from The Grateful Dead to Snoop Dogg….at the end of each show they hand out a limited number of music posters….free. Each poster has it’s own unique artwork, and the date of the show and artist. People collect the posters, and sometimes look forward to getting the poster as much as the show. Generations of posters are framed and make-up the walls. Also, when you enter the Fillmore, there is a bucket of free apples and someone who welcoming you to the Fillmore. No wonder it’s one of the most loved places to see a band perform live.”

#39. From Richard Pastor Sr.
“I have a Subway “cash cash” given to me (free) at a local Subway Franchise which I consider to be a customer appreciation/rewards program. I receive points for each dollar spent which are redeemable for food items. This builds loyalty and is an added incentive when deciding where to buy lunch next time (10 points = a cookie; 75 points = 12 inch sub for example)
You can check it out at http://www.mysubwaycard.com
Hey, I wonder if they ever considered a nine-inch sub?”

#48. Parke Morris
Stan–what about when Lexus delivers your car back washed and cleaned on the inside. It makes me want to take it there to get overcharged for the oil change just because you effectively get a free car wash and vacuum out of it. This is a great perk. Disclosure: My Lexus has 190,000 miles on it lest you think I am “Pimpin P”. Great idea for a book. I will be intrigued to read other examples.

From Brad Bossow
#53. Ground Round serves free popcorn
#54. Department stores execute the special ‘Gift w/ Purchase’ program with cosmetics

From Liz DiLullo Brown
#56. We recently relocated to PA and were doing a fast and furious real estate hunt. As part of that we needed a mortage (obviously) so I called USAA, my automobile insurance company. Not sure if you know much about USAA, but they have been rated #1 in customer service by Businessweek for several years and it is understandable why. Although USAA is only available to members of the military and their family (extended family), they make membership a badge of loyalty. My father has been a member since 1969 and I since the early 1990’s.

First, USAA offers a program called Movers Advantage. The program recommends a realtor to use and the opportunity to earn rewards for going through the program. So we used their realtor which ended up being a reputable person through Coldwell Banker.

Then after receiving pre-approval from USAA we bid on a house, offer was accepted and went to the next step to organize the closing. Our first key moment with USAA was when they offered to move UP our closing date. It took us a total of 3.5 weeks to close. Now, it helped that they had given us some guidance on getting the proper documentation to them for the mortgage commitment, but regardless, in a time of mortgage crisis, they made it painless.

Then after closing, we received a call from USAA. It was the representative for the Mover’s Advantage program. Because we had participated in the program and received our financing through USAA, they were sending us a check (equivelant to cash!) for $1,350. Yes, $1,350.

#58 From Megan Callaghan
My friend just bought some sunglasses from Native Eyewear (www.nativeeyewear.com). The sunglasses came with a slogan that she just posted on her Facebook. The slogan made me think about you and your project:

“Adapt your vision. Step out your front door and open your eyes. A world of unmatched clarity. Rise up. Take it on. Make it yours. Let the salt from your brow stake your claim.”

#60. From Micky Baehr
This August I had the opportunity to visit the Martin Guitar Company in Nazareth, PA. They offer a free tour of the factory. The tour was spectacular, lasting well past an hour and they answered all of our questions. The marketing lagniappe was at the end of the tour. They gave everyone the sound hole (the cutout in the middle of the guitar). It was imprinted with the Martin logo. I’ve told all of my guitar friends about it and they all thought it was pretty cool.

From Micky Baehr
#64. On Carnival cruises, each night after returning to your cabin, a towel is on your bed, cleaverly folded into various animal shapes … elephants, rabbit, giraffes, in addition to a good chocolate mint on your pillow. As if you need more food on a cruise!

From Ted Hillenmeyer
#66. Tim Coffey is a local photographer in Stamford. During Halloween he takes free pictures at his studio of kids in their costumes as long as you bring in a toy for Toys for Tots. It has goodwill wrapped all around it since the toys are for a good cause, parents aren’t obligated to buy anything if they don’t like the photos but I’m sure Tim does a great business of parents buying pics of their kids in Halloween outfits and then potentially using him for Christmas and other family pics.

#67. Splash car wash has two soap guns (kind of look like machine guns) installed in the side wall so as cars go by on the production line kids can shoot an endless stream of sudsy soap at their car.

#68. John Allen’s is a men’s hair salon that caters to wall street. They have a pool table patrons can use while they wait, they serve beer from the tap and shine your shoes. I think all of that is free (although you end up tipping the barmaid, shoe shiner, warm face towel guy, shaver, haircut gal and manicurist.

#69. When your car needs service at Lexus of Greenwich they will come pick up your car, drop off a free loaner (a Lexus) and return your car washed. They are also open until midnight (they run 3 shifts).

From Keith Green
Stan-
Great project here, best of luck with it and the book!

Here are a couple of local New Jersey favorites:

#71. Super Food Town: Free balloons and lollipops for the kids! Not that a grocery store isn’t enough fun for a three year old, but what kid doesn’t love a balloon and a free lolli? There isn’t a set place where they hand them out, but people actually find you in the aisle while you are shopping and hand the great freebies over to your child.

#72. CIrcle BMW, Eatontown, NJ. Mayve this is common at car dealerships,but whenever I take my car in for service (whether it is under warranty or not) it comes back squeaky clean at no extra charge. Nothing like a free trip through the car wash!

From Melissa Lee
#74. A long day of traveling can really suck the life out of you. By the time you check into your hotel, you’re tired, hungry, and most importantly – dehydrated from flying. The Westminster Hotel offers free bottled water in all of their rooms. I don’t know any other hotel that offers this and in most cases, it’s about $4-$6 for a bottle of water in hotel rooms. I visited this hotel as a potential place for our wedding guests next October and this was one point they made sure to tell us.

From Doug Drotman of Drotman Communications
#76. How about Commerce Banks free use of change machines – a lot better than rolling coins.